


how to make the perfect painting

by Redwatermelon



Series: guides to loving you [2]
Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae is Whipped, M/M, Painter Jaehyun, Photographer Juyeon, bbangkyunyu only mentioned, soft with a bit of smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:20:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27895960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redwatermelon/pseuds/Redwatermelon
Summary: Jaehyun's love for Juyeon summarized into 8 steps of painting
Relationships: Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae/Lee Juyeon
Series: guides to loving you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027911
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	how to make the perfect painting

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! As you can see, this is the direct continuation from the previous work in the same series. After whipped Juyeon, I think we all need a bit of whipped Jaehyun in our lives. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Happy 3rd anniversary to our boyz!

_A guide by Lee Jaehyun_

**1\. Search for Inspiration**

Inspiration can come from a lot of things, especially when you live in a beautiful town near the beach where a lot of beautiful animals and sceneries pass by in every hour of the day. But sadly that's not the case with Jaehyun. He had been sitting on his balcony for close to an hour, trying to draw something, _anything_ , and that would just result in another scrunched up paper, adding to the ones laying sadly beside him.

Why is it so hard? When there's a perfectly fine scenery in front of him, the sun slowly going down until all he could see was the top half of the yellow star. When he could see his neighbor's beautiful, majestic white cat looking out the window like he owned the world. Yet those are not enough. He need more inspiration. Something beautiful enough that would want to make him perpetuate the beauty into his worthless sheets of paper.

And that's when he saw him.

A man in a plaid blue overshirt, black ripped jeans and navy blue cap settling on top of his head, crouching down with a camera in front of his eyes. Because of the angle he was in, he couldn't see the face of the said man, but even just by looking at his side profile from afar, he was already entranced. He wanted to call out to him, or to do something attention-seeking enough to make him look at his direction. But at the end he kept still, his dignity and pride getting the best of him. _I'm not just gonna make myself look stupid to someone I don't even know._

But as if his unspoken wishes turned into some whispers carried by the flowing wind, the next second the man whipped his head around to look straight at him. and he felt like he could truly choke on air, and for once let his dignity fall along with his jaw.

The man's pretty. Really, insanely, handsomely pretty. A pair of feline-like eyes looked up to his direction, blinking slowly with dark lashes decorating his eyelids. The high, long slope of his nose with a tiny crooked tip, so unique yet fits with all his features so well, and a beautiful pink pair of lips that's currently pursed, almost like pouting. Span of tanner skin gleaming under the sunset, added with the wind rustling through short napes of black hair peeking through his cap was enough to knock Jaehyun's lungs out of air, as he found himself unable to look away. 

The sudden click snapped him from all his admiring glory. He saw the man looking through his camera, checking the photo he just took. He might have been a bit dazed just now, but he's pretty sure the man just took a photo of him, or maybe the scenery behind him, who knows. What he did know was that it was his chance to strike a conversation, to at least talk to the beautiful man once in his life even if it meant embarrassing himself.

"Who said you could take my photo?" It came out more demanding than he would've liked, and he cringed at how maybe he had just made a bad first impression. Instead, the man glanced up from underneath his baseball cap, flashing him a sharp grin.

"Was taking a photo of the scenery," he said, pointing at the sun setting in the orange-and-purple sky. Jaehyun felt his stomach drop for a second, but his heart pushed through, not wanting the moment to just end there.

"There's still me in that picture,"

"Yes, as I said," he took his camera in his big hands, squinting through the small viewfinder and aimed it again at him. "Was taking a photo of the scenery," a shutter, and another satisfied hum from the man as he examined the photo. He could feel heat creeping up to his face, stomach coming back up after the free fall. So it's not only him who's interested.

"Alright then, sugar talker, I suppose you won't mind me drawing you..?"

"Juyeon. Lee Juyeon,"

"I suppose you won't mind me drawing you, Juyeon?"

"Of course, as long as I can take a few more shots of you,.."

"Lee Jaehyun, and sure you can,"

**2\. Start Sketching**

Sketching comes easy once you found the perfect inspiration. It's a plan, a plan to start saving the whole beauty you found into sheets and sheets of paper. You can use a really thin pencil first to be careful, or maybe if you're confident in yourself, use the thicker ones to accentuate the lines before outlining it with a pen.

Jaehyun felt like he had skipped the whole process and used the thickest marker available.

He had done it. He talked to the man. He went down from his balcony to shake his hand and introduce himself properly. And he slipped his number into a piece of paper and right inside the man's camera case. Did he succeed? Yes he did. Did he get caught while doing it? Yes he did. And did he embarrass the hell out of himself? Considering the snort he heard as he was doing his 'secret' ninja skills, he most probably did.

He almost fell off his bed when he received the first text that night.

He clung to the side of the bed to keep his weight upright, and resulted in accidentally clicking the notification as he gripped his phone tightly in surprise. Once he came down from his shock of almost ripping his body in half, he felt like falling again when he read the one line text.

_Hi, this is Juyeon :)_

It's ridiculous how much time he spent repeating the single text over and over again, smiling to himself every time he got to the smiley emoji part that he almost forgot to reply for a solid five minutes. He quickly typed a reply, reminding himself to send an emoji back.

_Hello :)_

Was it too short? Did he sound too boring? But he did send a smiley emoji back, so it should sound friendly enough, right? Before he could think too much about it, his phone light up with another notification, and he clicked it with the speed of light.

_I didn't get the wrong number right? Is this Lee Jaehyun?_

And Jaehyun laughed, at his uncertainty and at how they're both visibly nervous over texting. He quickly replied, finally letting his witty side show through.

_No? This is Lee Juhyun  
Nah just kidding, it's me_

_I almost had a heart attack! :(_

The cute emoji was what won over him. Before he realized it himself, his fingers already danced on his keyboard, and pressed send right before his brain could comprehend what he just typed.

_Are you free next Saturday?_

And then he panicked, cursing the message app for not having an unsend option and threw his phone down onto the bundle of blanket. Did he seriously just ask him out on a date? Right after meeting him close to five hours ago? Without even knowing a single thing about him except for his name and the fact that he looks like he's an angel descending from the heavens? Juyeon must think he's not serious now. What kind of person just ask someone out after barely half a day of their first meeting?

He heard a ping, and so he dared himself to peek from underneath his hands. There's two notifications, and he used a finger to tap at it. Better to get it over with.

To his surprise and his absolute relief and glee, the other's reply was more than he could've hoped for.

_No, but I'm free tomorrow if you're up for it.  
I'll come by at 5?_

_Sounds great  
See you tomorrow!_

_See you tomorrow ;)_

The wink emoji kept him up the whole night, but he'd rather bury himself in the sand rather than letting anyone know.

**3\. Move to Canvas**

An empty, white canvas is the next step after finishing the rough sketch. A new place where you can start planning everything from zero, and maybe add your own detailing after the whole sketching process. This is probably Jaehyun's least favorite process, as you could lose track over making sure it's at least somewhat similar to the sketch plan, but he knew it would all be worth it at the end.

"Move that here, please!" Jaehyun said loudly through his own set of boxes, and the two workers followed him, carrying other stacks of boxes into their soon-to-be living room. The big boxes fell down with a thud, and with every thud he prayed from the depth of his bones that it won't damage anything that's in the box. He'd make sure to reduce one or two stars from the rating later. 

His frown was replaced with a grin as soon as he saw the younger walking through the door, bringing boxes towered up so high he could barely see his forehead. He set them down on the floor with a small _oof_ , catching Jaehyun's eyes and smiled through his own sweat.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, walking over to him and placed a kiss on his scalp, uncaring about the mussed up strands sticking to each other from all the sweat.

"Oh, nothing, just you being all hot. I'm kind of distracted," Jaehyun teased, circling his hand around his exposed biceps. Juyeon laughed, letting the older do the same thing to his other arm.

"Should I let my sleeves down, then? But it's too hot," he said, rolling one sleeve down experimentally just to roll it back up a second later. "Yeah, you'll just have to deal with it for a few more minutes,"

"That sounds nice," he chuckled, slicking the younger's hair back from all the sweat gathering at his forehead. "Are there still a lot left?"

"No, the ones I brought in were the last," he said. "I mean, we still gotta wait for our furniture to come tomorrow, but the boxes are all done,"

"Great," Jaehyun said, leaning into his chest as he heard the moving truck driving away. "I wanna shower,"

"Sure, we still have no hot water, though," Juyeon said, and Jaehyun already started laughing before the younger could even get the offer out of his mouth.

"Let's just shower already," 

The shower was way beyond ice cold, with them still freezing and jumping around despite their added body heat next to each other. Jaehyun quickly got out of the shower to fetch his clothes from one of the boxes, unable to stand the cold any more longer. He watched with as much amusement as he possibly muster without looking mocking as the younger got out a few minutes later, towel around his waist and body shivering as he searched for his own set of clothes from piles of boxes in the room.

"I told you to mark the box," Jaehyun pointed out, unimpressed, stirring two cups of instant ramyeon.

"C-can you j-just help me h-here?" He protested, teeth chattering from the cold. Jaehyun huffed, but who was he to resist? He's not gonna let him die because of such a trivial thing, and he did look so cute asking him to do so with his kitten-eyes, so he went to his box and threw him a set of clothes, earning a stammering thank you as a response. 

As they warmed their bodies up with the hot cup of ramyeon as their dinner, Juyeon laid out their mattress in one of the rooms which was their planned bedroom. It wasn't thick by any means, but it'll be enough for the night before they'll receive their bed back. As soon as Jaehyun laid down on one of their makeshift pillow- which consist of clothes stuffed into a pillowcase- Juyeon immediately snuggled in, taking him in a tight hug and buried his face into the crook of his neck. He chuckled fondly, hugging him back and card his fingers through the soft black locks. 

"Still cold?" he asked. The younger tightened his hug as a response, sighing a warm breath of relief as Jaehyun started rubbing his back, transferring more warmth.

"I can't wait to have our furniture back," he said. "I miss our sofa already,"

"And our bed,"

"And our chairs,"

"And our drawers,"

"Will all of them fit here?"

"Mm maybe it'll be a bit cramped," Jaehyun admitted, looking around their empty medium-sized bedroom. "Once I have enough money, let's expand the house,"

"Change that pronoun to we, mister," Juyeon demanded, poking an accusing finger on his chest. "Once _we_ collected enough money, let's expand the house. We promised to do everything together," Jaehyun smiled onto his skin, and maybe that's enough answer for Juyeon because he could feel his smile on his neck as well. 

"But you know," the younger started again. "This is not so bad,"

"What is?"

"This house," he said. "It may be quite small, but I think it's beautiful, and it's fully ours now. And really, I wouldn't mind not expanding anything as long as you'll stay with me," 

And Jaehyun's poor heart melted just like that. He left a kiss on his forehead, pressing their bodies even closer on the thin mattress, silently spreading their blanket over their tall forms. 

"We'll manage," he smiled. "Together," the younger sent him another smile, stifling a yawn and laced their fingers under the blanket.

"Together,"

**4\. Paint with Colors**

With different needs of sets and types of colors, there's a different canvas for everything. There's a small one, as small as your palm, a medium one, the size of your chest, a big one, the size of your TV, or maybe an extra big one, the size of your whole living room wall. Some people prefer using a rougher material, some people prefer using the very smooth material, and some like it right in the middle.

Jaehyun, though, preferred his canvas to be slightly tan, with exactly 180 cm of height, and human shaped.

He liked to hold his canvas down, to paint it with blotches of pretty red and purple, to see the masterpiece he could create around the smooth surface using his mouth and teeth. Some other times, he would take the chance and paint his ass cheeks with a pretty hue of red with the shape of his hands. And other times, it's just enough if he could fish out a pretty shade of pink to spread across his cheekbones.

He giddily bit down on another patch of skin, humming in satisfaction as the other cried out, back arching beautifully and hands grasping for his pale shoulders.

"Hurts..no more," he pleaded breathily, legs tightening around his waist as he continued to roll his hips.

"Sorry," Jaehyun apologized, running his tongue over every bitemarks he found near, which was almost endless. He could see the reason as he straightened up and saw the beautiful mess he made.

Displays of tan skin now covered in both dull and sharp bite marks, a specifically dark color on the recent ones. He could see drops of ruby-colored red seeping from the insides of his skin, the places where he had lost control and bit down so hard the younger had to tug his hair to pull him away. His thighs and his butt were also burnt red from how much he had spanked them, along with the almost-maroon tip of his dick, glistening and dripping with translucent spools of precum.

The harmony of colors accompanied with some other shades of red, along with some purpling love bites littered everywhere around his body and the lovely shade of pastel pink on the tips of his ears and cheekbones would look quite messy on a normal canvas. But this is Jaehyun's favorite canvas to paint on, every single time creating a masterpiece so beautiful on their silky white sheets.

"Beautiful," he sighs, brushing his lips on his bobbing Adam's apple and bit down just enough to hear him gasping for air.

"Hyung," 

He said it in a tone of a plea, and Jaehyun looked up with a smile, knowing those beautiful parted lips would already be swollen and shiny with spit, taunting him to make it bruise.

"Yes, baby?"

Juyeon answered with a clench of his walls, and it has become sort of a habit for him to spread his ass cheeks and admire the way his hole stretched beautifully to accommodate his cock, the ring of muscle swollen and reddish-pink as he kept rubbing against it.

He knew what he wanted straight off the bat, but he wanted to hear it from himself, to see the way his sinful lips formed around those words.

"What do you want, baby? Tell hyungie what you need," and Juyeon nearly sobs when Jaehyun stopped to grind his cock deeper into him, sending him spiraling into a thick fog. 

_"Harder,"_ he managed to choke out, dark brown orbs slowly filling with tears, proof of his pleasure and his desperation. _"Please,"_

How can he ever resist?

Juyeon moaned sharply as Jaehyun went harder, deeper, altering his angles slightly to reach his favorite spot along his velvety walls. And as he reached the peak with a sharp cry, decorating his whole body with droplets of pearly white, Jaehyun would deem his masterpiece complete, at last, with another satisfied thought of knowing he had painted his insides with the same white color.

**5\. It's Okay If the Paint's Messy**

Painting needs an equal amount of concentration and having fun. If you're not having fun, the painting will become too boring, and if you're not concentrating, the painting will become too messy.

That's what Jaehyun's experiencing right now, a brush in one hand and a pallet in another. In front of him was his finished sketch, already littered with colors here and there. He had signed up into a competition, and had to submit his painting by Friday, which is tomorrow.

There wasn't supposed to be anything wrong. His sketch was perfect- in both his and Juyeon's opinion. It was of a park in winter, all covered up in snow underneath the bright full moon. He had found the colors he wanted to use, and have painted a few parts on the canvas. Yet, he couldn't help but feel like something is missing.

A sudden touch to his neck made him gasp. His brush clattered to the ground, spraying some white paint all over their already stained wooden floor. He turned around quickly, finding Juyeon standing there with a steaming cup in hand. He knew he was just trying to comfort him, but him and his already overheating brain seemed to snap right there and then. He picked up the brush, looking at him pointedly.

"You could've called me first, Juyeon-ah,"

"I did, but you didn't seem to hear me, so I made you hot chocolate," he said, offering him the cup. Jaehyun sighed, already the nth time that day, and silently pushed the cup away.

"I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood to drink," the younger frowned at his answer, keeping the cup in his hand.

"Hyung, I know the deadline's tomorrow, but don't stress yourself too-,"

"How can I not!?" He snapped. "If I didn't answer you then you really shouldn't have interrupted me! I'm concentrating!" He stood up from his chair, turning back to look at the younger properly. Juyeon's frown deepened, daring himself to look at his hyung in the eyes.

"If you concentrate too much you won't get anything done, hyung, you should take a few minutes break," he said, as calm as usual, but Jaehyun in his stress mode took it offensively.

"Are you saying I'm not gonna make it!?"

"What? No! Calm down hyung, you know that's not what I-,"

"Shut up!" He tried to push him away by his chest, but as his hand went up, he slapped the entire cup by accident, and straight to the wall beside the canvas.

_Crash!_

He stood frozen, eyes wide in horror as he saw the mess he just made. He traced the drips of chocolate on the wall, and the now shattered mug that he recognized was Juyeon's favorite. For a split second, his anger vanished into guilt, but then his eyes zeroed on a splatter of chocolate on the white part of his canvas, and he just lost it. He gasped sharply, the mug long forgotten as he focused on the small brown spot near the sketch of a bench.

"You- ughhh you shouldn't have brought that hot chocolate- now I have to wait for this to dry!" He complained, trying to blow on it to get it dry faster. He heard the younger sigh heavily, and even without looking he knew he's massaging his temples.

"I'll get a cloth-,"

"No need," he cut off curtly. "You and your clumsy ass have done enough,"

He regretted his words as soon as he said it. It seemed like his mind finally cleared, then, as he turned back around with wide eyes. Juyeon was visibly hurt, jaw gritted and brows furrowed. He shifted on his feet, biting down on his bottom lip, and the next thing he heard completely shattered his heart.

"I'm sorry,"

His voice was so soft and broken, voice cracking even with only saying two words. Jaehyun's breath came out shaky, one hand halfway up to take Juyeon's waist in his, to apologize and hug him until the sun's gone and was replaced by the stars, but then Juyeon retreated back, and ran out the door without sparing a single glance.

**6\. Cover It Back Up**

The next few minutes was a blur to him. He took a cloth, wiping the chocolate from the wall and the floor, and picked up the pieces of Juyeon's mug. It was completely shattered, no way to glue it back on even for a decoration. He knew how much that mug meant to him. It was custom-made by his best friend, with both of their chibi forms printed on the mug wearing black and white cat onesies. He talked so fondly about that mug, always taking care of it to make sure it's clean. He rarely used it, as well, and the fact that he decided to offer it to Jaehyun just for him to break it and even blamed it on the younger made him feel like a total asshole, if he's not one already.

By the end of his cleaning and regretting session, he started to get worried. It has been close to 15 minutes since the younger left the house without his coat to who knows where. His first instinct was to grab his phone and dialed his number, but then he heard the familiar ringtone ringing from their bedroom. With one glance to the sofa he also found his wallet laying there unopened, and his body reacted before his mind did, grabbing both their coats and ran outside.

He roamed around the neighborhood in panic, searching in any places he thought Juyeon would go to. He checked Juyeon's favorite restaurant. Empty. His favorite arcade? Empty. His favorite second-hand book shop? Also empty. His desperation made him ask people around, for a tall man with blue hair without a coat, but he got nothing but a shake of their heads.

He leaned onto a brick wall, puffs of warm air escaping his lips. He had checked possibly everywhere near, but still no Juyeon to be found. What if he got kidnapped? What if something happened to him? What if he took a taxi to his parents' house or to somewhere just to be alone? What if he's out there somewhere frozen, just waiting for Jaehyun to find him?

He willed himself to calm down, taking a deep breath and filling his lungs with the cold air in the middle of winter. _Think clearly, Jaehyun_ , he scolded himself. _What kind of person is Juyeon?_

Juyeon, the younger man who always manages to save a smile for Jaehyun even when he's dead tired. Juyeon, who's ready to drop everything when Jaehyun just so as talk a little weirdly. Juyeon, who would do everything even if he's not comfortable with it if it makes Jaehyun happy. Juyeon, _who loves him_

He felt his heart clenching painfully, and quickly leaped onto his feet, having a hunch of where the younger might be. He completely ignored the ache of his muscles as he ran to his destination. His coat was resting heavily on his shoulders, and his whole body started to sweat from how much he's running, but all he could focus on was the owner of the black coat he's holding, and desperately hoped he's there for Jaehyun to fix.

He arrived there approximately three minutes later, head turning from left to right so quickly amongst the benches and dying trees. The park had been Jaehyun's favorite, as it was the place where the younger asked him out. Though it's not Juyeon's favorite because of his embarrassment of falling straight on his nose, he knew the younger was fond of it as well.

The park was his last hope.

He roamed around, searching from benches to benches, even the one where Juyeon had sat to fix his nosebleed, but still no sight of him. His whole body tensed and slumped at the same time. If not in the park, where could he be? He had visited nearly every place in the neighborhood. If he seriously had gone by a taxi then-

_It's him._

He's sure it's him. Even just by looking at the slumped shoulders and bent back, his newly dyed inky blue hair and grey hoodie gave him away. He's sitting on a swing, elbows on his knees and face in his hands. He sighed in relief, walking from behind slowly, only realizing then that both of them had only worn slippers in the 4 inches of snow on the ground.

He draped the coat on him, and the younger jolted, head trying to whip back, but he quickly shushed him, hugging him tightly from behind.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, baby," Juyeon's body visibly relaxed as he recognized the voice, hanging his head low as Jaehyun pressed soft kisses on his cold neck.

He released the hug then, going around the swing to face him properly, and the sight just stabbed him right in the heart. The younger was a mess, drying tear tracks on red cheeks, and a few frozen teardrops on the corner of his eyes from how cold it was. His hair was also a mess, overgrown blue bangs falling to his forehead and just above his eyes. Even with the coat now draped on him, he was still shivering, lips pale and bitten with drying blood.

"God, I-I'm so sorry, shit-," he reached his hands to cup his cheeks, both shaking because of guilt. As the warmth of his hand touched his cheeks, the younger's body jerked with a gasping sob, another set of tears making its way out of his tired feline eyes. He shushed him in panic, wiping all the tears with his thumbs and leaned closer down. Juyeon's big hands scrambled, clutching to his coat so tightly like he's gonna disappear in any second.

"I-I'm sorry," he apologized through his sobs, letting Jaehyun wipe his endless tears away.

"Shh no no, baby, you don't need to apologize, you did nothing wrong," How could he be so careless? When he knew that he can be as fragile as a fine piece of glass, even with his big build and his height. When he knew that all Juyeon wanted was for Jaehyun to be happy, yet all this time he had been taking advantage of that, of Juyeon's warm hands safe around him and his gentle voice reassuring him that it will all be okay, not even expecting anything back from him. 

He knew it before he felt it, so it's no surprise when he tasted a wet and salty substance on the corner of his lips. It's hard to stop then, as fat drops of tears mixed with his sweat, sliding down to his neck. 

The pulling on his coat disappeared, and then coldness encased his warm cheeks, big thumbs wiping his tears away. The younger was smiling softly through his own set of tears, swiping one drop from the corner of his eye.

"Don't- cry," curse his soft eyes and his even softer heart, still comforting the older even when he's the one hurting the most. Jaehyun smiled, leaning forward to press their lips together, transferring warmth to the frozen kitten underneath him.

"I could say the same to you," and their smiles after they pulled away could light up the entire night sky.

"Let's go home?" Jaehyun offered, now taking his frozen hands in his. Juyeon sighed in content, letting the older transfer more heat to his numb fingers.

"Won't I just interfere?"

"No," Jaehyun didn't think when he answered. He didn't need to think. The answer is as obvious as it gets. "You never interfere with anything, baby, you always try to help me, yet me and my stupidly easy overheating brain always try and push you away. I can never enjoy what I do if it's not for you being beside me. You're my inspiration, my muse, my will to work and to live. I love you, and I would gladly drop that stupid competition if that's the wall that would ruin us,"

Juyeon suddenly gasped, eyes widening as he searched for some kind of confirmation from the older. Jaehyun raised an eyebrow, confused of his reaction until the words left his mouth.

"You love me?" 

He stared at him, then, at those wide eyes, red nose and reddening cheeks that's not because of the cold, every single inch of him bringing new waves of memories and nostalgia. The way his big hands look in Jaehyun's own, the gentle way he would hold Hyunjae in his arms. His tender smiles and bright laughter, his hugs, his cuddles, his kisses, each one bringing more warmth to the depth of his ribcage that made him come to a conclusion.

This is love.

He is deeply and helplessly in love with the man in front of him, the man who's just a bit taller than him yet can look so small and so fragile in his arms, the one who whispered the exact same thing a year ago underneath the rain of falling autumn leaves, the one looking up at him expectantly with teeth almost chattering from the cold. He is so in love it _hurts_.

The fondest smile broke onto his face he himself could feel it, and he nodded, quick and certain, pressing more kisses to his face.

"I love you, I love you so much," he confessed, licking into his mouth and tilting his head, giving him a deep kiss that fully represented his deep feelings for the younger. Juyeon sighed in between the kiss, intertwining their fingers and pulled him closer until the swing started creaking from the added weight.

They pulled away with lips slick with their shared saliva, and Jaehyun watched with fond amusement as the younger reached out to wipe some from the corner of his mouth. 

"I love you too, hyung," he smiled, leaning into Jaehyun's kisses that started to travel to his ear. "I love you so much, I have for a while now,"

"I know baby, I know," the blonde smiled knowingly, pulling him up by the hands and helped him wear his coat properly, tucking his hand into the pockets and the other still intertwined with his own.

"Let's go home,"

Their house was unlocked, since both of them couldn't think straight and had forgotten to lock it when they left. Thankfully there's nothing missing, and they both went in to be welcomed with warmth from the still ongoing fireplace. Jaehyun made sure to lock the door this time, shedding both of them from their coats and lifted Juyeon up in his arms, laughing at the little squeak he let out. He quickly ran to their bedroom before the other could protest, laying him on the bed and kissed him, silly and impatient.

"Unh- hyung-," his breath hitched as Jaehyun slipped his hands inside the wrinkled hoodie, caressing warm skin with cold hands.

"Hmm?" The older asked, warm lips travelling to his neck.

"T-the painting, you need to fix the painting first," he tried to find an excuse, although he tilted his head naturally to give him more access. Jaehyun hummed, suckling on a part of skin until it turned red then purple.

"Have more important things to fix," he said, setting his palm flat on the younger's racing heart.

It was a cold afternoon, with Jaehyun kissing and biting every inch of skin, roaming his hands on his body inside and out. He made love to him until his whole body was hotter than the summer and he's a writhing mess, teary feline eyes looking up to him with the orange sunset reflected in his blown pupils. By the time he deemed his work done, Juyeon had already came down from his second high, legs trembling around his waist and arms shaking as it held onto the sheets for dear life. He smiled fondly, whispering the nth 'I love you' to his ear with the younger's sated expression as his reply.

**7\. Details Are Important**

That day he had spent the next few hours finishing up his painting (because of Juyeon's insisting), with the said boy burrowing his face into the base of his clothed spine. He would sometimes glance up at the ongoing work, giving inputs with his hoarse voice and would get soft pats in the head as a form of acknowledgement. 

As the sky gets darker and darker, he finally puts down his brush on the heap of drying paint on the pallet. He's finally done, after three constant hours and three bathroom breaks later. All the empty spots were filled with lots of grey, white and blue, with the bright full moon shining from the dark blue sky. Yet, he still felt something was missing, but he still couldn't pinpoint what it was.

He glanced down at the younger, hoping to hear some of his inputs, but was met with a sleeping kitten instead, arms loosely wrapped around his waist. He smiled, scooting forward a little bit so his nose wouldn't get blocked by his clothes.

He absentmindedly traced his fingers on every part of his face, brushing gently on his swollen eyes and booping his cute nose. He had always felt so lucky to be able to meet the younger, that he lost his control that day and braved himself to talk to him, and how the younger reciprocated his actions immediately.

Ever since then, life has been great. They were 21 at the time, and now Jaehyun is 23 and the younger is 22, his birthday upcoming in less than a month. It only took two months for them to make it official, and a bit more than a year for them to make the decision to move into their own house, which they bought with a discount from Juyeon's friend as it was pretty old and relatively small. Now they had just passed the two year mark last October, and Jaehyun couldn't be more grateful for having the ever-loving younger with him for that long, and hoped that they would stay together for as long as they could.

The thought seeped into his chest, like he just swallowed a nice cup of hot tea that pleasantly warmed his entire body. He wants this, he wants Juyeon and his everything, wants to be with him his entire life. The realization that came with it was nothing too shocking, and he's glad the younger's sleeping peacefully right now so he wouldn't see Jaehyun's face all red, and an almost stupid-mushy smile on his face.

He dove down to press reverent kisses on his entire face, being as gentle as possible so he wouldn't wake him up and picked his brush once again, all ready to finish the painting by looking at his muse. He knows what's missing, and he knows how to add it.

The next morning Juyeon woke up in Jaehyun's arms, yawning heavily and snuggling deeper into his embrace. The older softly chuckled, already awake a few minutes earlier than him and pressed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Morning, love," he could feel the younger's smile even through the material of his shirt. He glanced up a little bit to press a kiss on his jaw, arms tightening around his waist. 

"Morning, hyung," he replied, followed by another yawn. "How was your painting?"

For the next few seconds Jaehyun didn't answer, and Juyeon whipped his head up incredibly fast, eyes widening in suspicion, and really, he had a really good reason to. Jaehyun had had a history of ripping a few canvases or throwing them away, with Juyeon always finding out every single one and scolded him for it. They were all perfectly fine, but Jaehyun always had some excuses, like how it wasn't good enough, or he used the wrong set of colors of forgot to add more detail into the rough sketch. He didn't like it when Jaehyun would do such thing to his works he was so proud of.

Jaehyun laughed seeing the assumption already growing in those sharp eyes, pressing playful pecks on his still-heavy-but-awake eyelids.

"I didn't, I didn't," he said, smiling as the younger sighed in relief.

"You scared me," he pouted. "When are you gonna send it?"

"I'm not gonna,"

"You're not gonna send it? Is someone coming over to send it for you?"

"No," he said, holding both Juyeon's hands tightly to prepare for what's coming. "I'm not submitting it,"

The speed of which the younger's eyes turn from soft to surprised to angry was so quick, but it couldn't be missed. His hands flexed tightly on his hold, and he just knew if he wasn't holding them, his chest would have another occupation as a tambourine.

"Hyung!" He protested, legs started to kick lightly at his. "This time it was so good! You could seriously win awards after awards with it! What is your excuse this time? If it's because of your usual 'it wasn't good enough' I swear to motherf-," Jaehyun shut him up with his lips, successfully muting all his upcoming profanities. All the while, his smile still stayed, happy that the younger have that much faith in him.

"Calm down," he broke the kiss with a small laugh, nuzzling his face into the soft blue locks.

"Explain yourself," Juyeon huffed.

"It's still in the house," he began, lips still busy working around the small cute face. "All safe. And clean. And signed. And nailed onto the wall,"

"Nailed- what!?"

"Mm," he smiled, stealing another kiss from his lips. "I fixed it yesterday, I found why I was still unhappy with it. It turned out perfect, but then I didn't want to let it go, you know? If I send it to the competition, they would keep it, and I won't be able to see it ever again. I don't want that, so I nailed it to our spare bedroom wall yesterday,"

The younger finally smiled, relieved that his hyung did it because he loved his work too much to let it go and not because of his usual unreasonable reasons. He leaned up for another kiss, and the older complied happily, releasing his hands now that he knew he wouldn't get mad.

"It's such a waste, though. That was probably my favorite work of yours, I'm so sure you would get first place with that,"

"Hmm but if it's your favorite work of mine, won't you want to see it all the time?" He asked. "Now that I keep it here, we both can see it every day. I don't regret what I did, I'm not sending it away,"

"Okay," Juyeon gave in with a smile. "I want to see it now. Can I see it?"

"Of course. Can you stand?"

"I think I can," he rolled off the bed and planted his feet on the cold tile floor, shivering as he let blood flow down his numb legs. He wobbled as he rose to his feet, and Jaehyun quickly went over to him, supporting his shoulders so he wouldn't fall. 

Together, they trudged over to their spare bedroom, which has almost nothing, really. It was mainly used as a storage room, with a lot of boxes and an unused single bed at the very lonely corner. The white walls were plain, cracked in some places, and they could very clearly see the dust flying around the room even before the lightbulb came to life. 

The light was dim, and the curtain was still pulled tight shut, but Juyeon's eyes immediately zeroed in on the only thing that gives the room color, the rectangular shape of Jaehyun's canvas that was filled with his masterpiece. Jaehyun smiled seeing the awestruck expression on his face, and led him inside slowly, fanning away every dust trying to attack them. Juyeon's already surprised face turned even more surprised as they got closer, eyes wide with a lot of tenderness in his dark brown pupils.

By now he had seen every painting Jaehyun made, but he couldn't help himself to gasp and stare in awe every time. Maybe that's what always drove Jaehyun to paint more, to see the light it brought to his lover's face and the stars dancing in his eyes, looking at his creation as if he wanted to tattoo it into his brain.

The painting was amazingly done. Juyeon had seen the big picture yesterday night as he accompanied him till the lateness of the day, but he had polished and added a lot more colors and details to the once-empty canvas. He didn't recognize it at first, but his lips curled as he realized that it was the park. The park Jaehyun is so fond of. The park where he had asked him out, where they spent their first anniversary, and the place where they first confessed their love to each other underneath the falling snowflakes. 

The infamous bench was in the picture, right beside two lampposts and near a really big tree. In front of it was the fountain, now dried up and frozen because of the cold and was stacked with lots and lots of snow instead of the pigeons and other types of birds surrounding it. The moonlight shone like hundreds of fireflies, lighting up the supposedly dark night sky with its glory. He noticed a lot of other cute details, like the small bakery in the background, where they like to buy their breads and pastries from their friend, Younghoon, and the beautiful flower shop beside it, owned by a really friendly boy called Chanhee. Jaehyun had perfectly captured every single beauty in the real life panorama, painted it and made it his own in the most beautiful and the most 'Jaehyun' way, just like how they both preferred it to be. Juyeon leaned back onto his shoulder, sighing in awe.

"It's beautiful," he said, eyes still raking every details he could find. "I really love this one the most,"

"Me too," Jaehyun smiled, hugging his waist from behind. 

"Also, if you don't mind me asking, what did you add? It looks almost the same as yesterday, except for the added colors, of course,"

"Ah," Jaehyun beamed, eyes crinkling as he rested his chin on Juyeon's shoulder, pointing at the right side of the canvas. "That,"

Juyeon squinted, trying to make out what is 'that', and gasped audibly, now looking more intently to see he's not seeing wrongly. 

In there, on the part where the snow is the thickest, was two small figures together near a rusty swing. Despite how cold it must've been in whatever universe they were in, one of them was on one knee, with the other's hand in his, and even though it's so small, he could see a very tiny, red box resting right beside his black shoe, the color standing out from all the white snow.

"Hyung?" he's not sure what he's asking, but he really felt like he could use some confirmation.

"Mm," Jaehyun answered. "It's what you think it is, love," 

He could hear the younger exhale a shaky breath, now holding to his hands still circling his waist.

"It's- I-I don't know, we're barely two years in, hyung,"

"I know, I'm not planning to propose soon, either," he said. "But I painted this as a reminder. A reminder of how much I love you, and how much I'd want to spend my entire life with you. It may not be now, as we're both still young, and won't be able to support ourselves properly yet, but one day, I promise you, that this painting won't be just a painting anymore, that I'll bring it to life in the most beautiful way possible just for you. When that day comes, what will be your answer?"

He could feel the slim figure shook in his embrace. He tightened his hold he had around him, smothering kisses on the crown of his head as he hung his head low.

"Y-yes," he answered softly, voice almost swallowed by his little sniffles. Jaehyun smiled, turning him back around to cup his cheeks in his hands. His eyes were already red-rimmed, and he would feel so bad for making him cry two days in a row if it's not for the smile settling on his beautiful swollen lips. Without any intention of making it swell even more, he leaned forward to give him short pecks, nuzzling their foreheads together.

"It may not be a surprise though, I feel like I'll have to bring you to customize the size of the ring. Your hands are just so big,"

"...what a way to ruin the mood,"

**8\. Hang It On the Wall**

Jaehyun has always been a man of his words. He never makes a promise he thinks he won't be able to keep, and always try his best to fulfill all the things he promises. 

Five years later and he's in the same spare bedroom, smiling down at the new canvas he held in hand.

It doesn't look like the same dark and dusty spare bedroom anymore. It has been completely renovated, walls a beautiful shade of teal with rolling wooden boards aligning the entire room, forming an aisle similar to a library's. As he passed each aisle, his eyes scanned the photos Juyeon took, mostly of him. When he smiled so brightly to the camera as they adopted their first kitten- which has now accumulated to two cats and one puppy, when he frowned in his deep sleep, when he looked like his own version of Juyeon when he tasted a sip of his paint water instead of his coffee, and a lot of their selfies- mostly taken by him. He found out how bad the younger's selfie skills are despite him working as a photographer, and though that explained why he was so reluctant to send him selfies at the first stages of their relationship, he still made him do it once in a while for the sake of seeing the younger's endearing attempts to take the best shot.

As he reached his destination, he paused, glancing back at his work at hand as another wave of memories passed through him. How he held his canvas the same way he held his first prize, and the second, and the third, and the- he think he had lost count by now, maybe Juyeon would remember by how many photos he took every time he win something. Even when he didn't make it, the younger was always there with him, to hold his hand and hug him on their sofa, whispering sweet praises and reassurance that made him feel happier than just winning another prize. He also remembered how, a week right before their third anniversary, he had almost ripped another canvas, and how the younger almost threw a tantrum as he tucked the canvas out of his reach. He had no idea the younger would submit it to a competition, and definitely not a famous, big-scale, international competition which holder was located in Canada. 

The second winner prize came in their mail right on their anniversary day, and despite little crooks that came with the long journey it had been through, he kept it tucked safely in the corner of his heart. 

Finally, he hung the canvas on the reserved spot on the wall, with a nail already ready to use. He sighed in satisfaction, examining the painting that has been in progress for weeks now. It might not be the neatest painting in the room, but the meaning behind it all could replace any trophy and money he had ever earned. 

He saw it before he felt it, as another shadow slowly approached him from the back and hugged him close to his chest. Juyeon rested his chin on his shoulder, kissing his cheek briefly before also focusing to the now full wall.

"It's really messy," he said, and even without looking Jaehyun knew he's cringing. "I should've been more careful,"

"No," Jaehyun smiled. "It's just right,"

"But look at the one beside it," he said in pout, pointing to the first painting Jaehyun had ever nailed in the room. "It's so neat,"

"No shit sherlock, I didn't graduate from arts major just to paint a messy canvas," he rolled his eyes jokingly, laughing as the younger huffed in mock offend.

"But really," he continued, leaning his head to the other. "This is my favorite painting in this room,"

"Don't lie,"

"I'm not," he said, and he really wasn't, because despite bits of black paint peeking out of the suit, the white patches on their golden puppy, and the uneven layering paint on their smiling but tear-streaked faces, the silver band circling both their ring fingers was what made the whole portrait special.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


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